As you all know by now I’m a dedicated fan of anime, especially Tokyo Revengers. Among its different gangs, the Black Dragons stands out as a strong and respected gang, after watching all the arcs. I quite like the name too.
I remember first seeing the Black Dragons from the eyes of the series’ main character, Takemichi Hanagaki. He was determined to change the fate of his ex-girlfriend Hinata. The Black Dragons was formed by Shinichiro Sano, Mikey’s brother, then it evolved into bigger things and lastly came at the hands of Takemichi. It’s a beautiful journey.
I’ve watched The black dragons be a noble gang with good faith and morale until the 8th generation successor Izana Kurokawa took over and changed everything to cruelty and power battles.
In the next sections, we will be exploring Black dragons’ origins, changes, and the impact it has had on viewing gang life in Japan.
What happens from the start to the end?
My obsession with Black Dragons started with their charismatic founder, Shinichiro Sano. Shinichiro, as I found out, wasn’t just a wandering knight; he was the heart of something bigger, that would later shape Tokyo’s underworld. The black dragons at his hands were a true symbol of brotherhood and loyalty, all in good faith. What I’ve learned as I watched Tokyo Revengers was that there can be good people even in the darkest of worlds. Shinichiro Sano represented that good human in the dark lives of Japanese gangs. He is undoubtedly my favorite character in the series.
Let’s begin the tale, shall we?
The first generation of the black dragons started off with shinichiro sano, and people like Keizo Arashi and Takeomi Akashi. These were skilled people with good hearts. The first generation of black dragons was never just about power and winning. They wanted to show that brotherhood and loyalty are more than just words. Action always speaks louder.
However, like everything in life, change is inevitable. I noticed the black dragons begin to change in a way that was drifting apart from Shinichiro’s vision and ideals. Each leader brought his own ways of thinking.
With the 8th generation came Izana Kurokawa who was focused on power more than good faith. Soon after that Shion Madarame pursued Izana’s dream and formed the 9th generation by going after Sano Manjiro, wishing to destroy him. I’m guessing you can imagine how it went like I could. Shion was defeated and black dragons fell into pieces.
Seishu Inui tried to revive the gang and pronounced himself the leader of 10th-generation black dragons. Later on, he set Taiju Shiba as the leader, and the big gang of black dragons was divided into small circles of people. At last, it was completely wiped out by the Tokyo Manji gang, under the command of Takemichi Hanagi the black dragon‘s members stayed in Toman. Takemitchi Hanagi later became the founder of the 11th-generation black dragons, with Inupi by his side.
The Black Dragons in the Tokyo Manji Gang Era
In this particular era, the black dragons were under the leadership of Taiju Shiba. Taiju is brutal. he easily uses violence as a defense mechanism to even the smallest of triggers. He wanted to detach the gang from the rules that Shinichiro Sano had put into it and drive the black dragons into much darker paths.
For me, the black dragons facing the Tokyo manji gang was the highlight of this arc. On one side we have the Tokyo Manji gang, with its charismatic leader Mikey, we have Draken who was so good at what he does, and overall, we have people who despite their somewhat dark paths still have morals and manners. On the other side, there is Taiju Shiba who leads the black dragons. He is violent and unfaithful and doesn’t care about morals. The battle between these two in my eyes was more than just a fight between people, it was the discipline and the good traits of Toman versus the violent and power-hungry nature of the black dragons. If you already didn’t know, Toman wins this fight and the black dragon gets defeated.
How does Takemichi work as the last leader?
Takemichi Hanagaki was originally an outsider of gang life and battles. Keeping that in mind I think he has made a huge impact on black dragons as a leader. He made sure to get back to the roots of what Shinichiro Sano had planned for the black dragons and he completely changed the ways taiju would deal with things. Taiju chose violence every single day, and Takemitchi couldn’t stand that. He was more Shinichiro sano style and that’s very interesting for me because 11 generations passed and in the end, the black dragon came under the leadership of someone who thinks the same as its founder. In my opinion, it just shows that this evolution was worth it after all.
